water change question

pour a glass of tap water, let it sit out for a day, then test it. I bet it will be closer to 8.

ya was reading up on the library section have a glass sitting out already haha :thumb: still doesnt explain why my multis where flashing may order a different water conditioner also. mines a lfs brand so assumed it was good what i have been using before.

few other things wanted to order this will give me more of reason now

also the flashing didnt last long minute or two and they seem to be back to normal moving piles of sand all over the place again

I would definitely check the water conditioner. Good call.

some cities are using chloramine in their water vs. just chlorine so you gotta get some conditioner which eliminates both.

make sure you aerate the water that's set out for testing so any particulates will stay suspended. :thumb:

bottle does say it takes care of both but it kinda smells sour and dont remember it being like that when i first opened it so sounds like may be that either way post my ph on the tap tomorrow and order some Prime

and thanks BioG stuck one of my mini filters in there forgot that part

Frazee - are you using AmQuel? Stuff always smells awful to me, but it does the job.

no its a store brand kind from a place here in ohio so wouldnt surprise me if it would go bad after so long

Store brand? Get some Prime. Also check to see if you have copper pipes. The store brand may not work fast enough. Who knows. But I would change to prime. Its funny because the shellies are usually pretty good with changes. I had one bite my hand while cleaning substrate. Switch conditioners.

my pipes are copper i usually let it run for a minute before doing a change and i do it in buckets usually mix it up with my hand and a powerhead to circulate some then pump it in guessing probably the conditioner just kind of odd they have not done it on the other water changes so who knows

Could have something to do with the winter storms you got lately. Maybe the water company is doing something different who knows.

Frazee86 said:

explain why my multis where flashing

Click to expand...

Changes in water hardness can cause flashing.

mmm suppose they could be doing somthing different and i'll have to order a GH and KH kit to monitor that now :lol: then again they may have to get used to it and hope they still like me if they messed with the water setup in my town.. time will tell i suppose..speaking of weather work got cancelled today so good as ever to order stuff and test more things haha

Mains water has carbon dioxide dissolved in it from being under pressure.
This forms carbonic acid.
Run your tap for a while to get a lower pH on your test kit.
The first bit may have de gassed.
To bring the pH of carbon dioxide over saturated mains water back up, you just need to airate the water or let it sit for a while.
Boy your multies are fussy. pH of 7.8 should be fine for them but then no fish likes rapidly changing pH.
I would not rush to add KH (simple baking soda will do this fine nothing expensive needed) unless you measure it has decreased in the tap water.
Just use older tap water. :wink:
Its one reason I do not like buffering substrates and rocks. You get a small pH drop every water change. If you buffer it back to the tank pH then your tank gets slowly ever further from your tap water.

All the best James

ya they must be drama queens they were not happy and my calvus who are suppose to be notorious for not liking water changes swam around like nothing was happening

Hopefully the water coming from the tap will return to normal. Find out whats buffering your tank too. You may have to change that slow......real slow so that you wont kill your bio. That way you wont have such a big change in ph when you do a water change.

ok so did testing today on tap tank and cup sitting out with a power head as followed

tap-8.0(had second opinion take a look) tank-8.3(isnt quite 8.2 and not quite 8.4) cup-8.4

so seems like i should let my water air out over night then do the water change isnt so bad :thumb:

and just to make sure will be ordering prime :fish: :fish:

WOW....lol. What kind of water do you get. Self buffering :thumb: . At least you have a good ph. Nice for tangs. Well like you said.....Just let it sit and air out with prime before you add it.

I thought that was the case.

This is what I do.

Drain about 30% of the water, then I add water back into the tank using the hose, but I have the hose running slightly above a trickle. The whole Time I have 1 of my canister filters running so it really splashes the water around. It takes about an hour to fill the tank back up, but this process allows the water to de-gas and I never have an issue. Much easier than filling buckets and letting the water sit out before you put it in.

well been doing small 15% water changes twice a weekso wouldnt be so bad doing buckets may try the hose thing but i have a 4yr old that like to run around might not end good if she runs into the hose haha was surpised myself how much it changed with over night sit :thumb: may try letting it sit for hour see what it comes up to so it wont have to sit out over night